Fall
by NorthernTrash-x
Summary: Hiei/Kurama. In that second, as Kurama fell from the sky, Hiei had stopped breathing. Then came the jealousy.


Set at the Demon World tournament, when Kurama fights Shigure.

Hiei x Kurama

**Fall**

_"hold your breath,_  
_because tonight will be the night_  
_that I will fall for you, over again,_  
_don't make me change my mind"_  
- Secondhand Serenade

Watching Kurama fall to the ground was one of the hardest things that he had ever had to do.

There was something inelegant about it, something about those lax limbs that seemed so decidedly _not_ like Kurama that it was wrong, somehow. Something about the way the long red of his hair fanned out across the sky, like an arc of blood sprayed from a wound, that was almost painful to watch. It reminded him of blood he had spilled from others, and wondered if there had been people on the sidelines feeling this kind of pain when he had cut down his opponents.

Then he cast that thought from his mind, for it was a useless one to dwell on, and remembered Kurama.

The large tree roots laced across the plateau top in a rising growth of demon plant, and time seemed to slow down, as Hiei glanced from the falling figure to what had been the battlefield, almost to a standstill. Kurama lay motionless in the sky, looking almost dead, and everything paled into insignificance.

The sky turned grey.

The people around him vanished.

The land faded into nothing.

All there was, here and now, was Kurama, and himself.

Nothing but the red of his hair, the slackness of his body, the wind that tugged relentlessly on both of them and the burn of Hiei's eyes, unable to tear themselves away from what he was not sure he wanted to see. He did not know where this would end, and he did not know if he was even still alive right now; all he knew was there was no way that he would get there on time.

It made him feel helpless, because there was nothing he could do, nothing, nothing at all.

He clenched his hands into fists hard enough to draw blood to stop him crying out Kurama's name. He was sure that if he had, the word would have come out in a howl, something more animal than man. As he started to run, spurred only by instinct, all he could feel was pain behind his eyes and the tightest of feelings across his chest. The dust cloud that billowed up in front of him seemed to mirror his confusion, seemed to embody his fear as it sprang upwards, and he stopped as he saw something, some shadow, some silhouette in the grey and brown dirt.

And he wasn't the only one. Around him was a group of people, and he had no idea how they got there or even who they were, because right now, all he could hold onto was that vision, that shadow, that hope.

He took a step forward before he could stop himself, but then the dust cleared enough to see, and Hiei hated himself for doing so, because he realised that that shadow was not just Kurama, but Yomi too. Yomi was holding Kurama up, propping him on his feet, and Hiei felt a surge of anger rise up inside of him.

He had no right.

No right at all.

He wanted to lunge forward, to rip those hands off Kurama, to push him away from the red-haired demon and away from himself and away from _everything _that he had the potential to ruin. But instead he controlled himself, and focused on the thin line of blood trickling down his wrist from where his nails had broken the skin.

Yomi smiled softly, kindly, warmly at Kurama, who smiled back, incensing Hiei even further.

Kurama stood up by himself, and closed his eyes in pain. When he opened them again, he was not looking at Yomi, but directly at Hiei, who stared back, wordless, emotionless. Kurama, he could tell, could see that there was something wrong, and Hiei turned away, his face impassive, to go back to the stadium.

There were other things that had to be done now, other battles to be had.

And then he fought, and pushed Kurama to the back of his mind to focus on other things, and he didn't really get a chance to think about that line of dried blood until the night, when the day and the battles were over, and he had only the darkness and his thoughts for company. Then, he sat on his bed, in the rooms that Yomi (_bastard_) had provided for them, and stared into nothing.

There was a knock on the door, but it was immediately opened before Hiei had responded, and Kurama walked in, his eyes warm, and he shut the door behind him, sliding the lock shut. He took a step forward, a slight frown creasing across his forehead as Hiei did not turn to look at him.

"Hey."

Hiei looked up, and stared at Kurama's smiling face, and allowed himself to show no emotion.

"What's wrong?"

Hiei frowned, and stared back at the wall.

"Why are _you_ here?"

"What sort of a question is that, Hiei?"

There was a long pause, and he clenched his fist again, nails biting down into his palm just as hard as before, re-opening the small crescent shaped scars, ignoring the blood again. When Hiei eventually spoke, it was to the wall, spoken with venom, with spite.

"Wouldn't you rather be with Yomi?"

Kurama took a step closer, his bewildered expression suddenly turning to clarity.

"Are you jealous?"

"Don't be absurd."

"You're jealous?"

Kurama sat on the edge of the bed, facing Hiei, and shook his head.

"There is no one, no one, _no one_ who will ever push you out."

His hands cupped the other's face, turning it towards him, thumbs lightly tracing the angular cheekbones, trying to get Hiei to meet his gaze.

"There will never be anyone that matters more to me than you. Do you understand that?"

"But once, you thought that about him, didn't you?"

"You're different to him. And I'm different to who I was then."

"So?"

Kurama half smiled.

"You can be decidedly stubborn at times, did you know that?"

He noticed then the blood pooling in Hiei's hands, and let go of the angry face to lift the fists to his face. Wordlessly he forced those unwilling hands open, and held them palm up in between the two of them. Hiei was still sitting cross-legged on the bed, and now Kurama moved in front of him, kneeling on the covers. He leant down, and carefully licked the blood off with the rough warmth of his tongue, not stopping until it was all gone. Each time the blood welled up again it was licked clean off, and although Kurama could not see it, leaning over as he was, Hiei allowed a small smile to cut across his face.

He leant down, and rested his forehead against the crown of Kurama's, breathing him in, letting his eyes fall closed.

"Don't fall again."

"I'm not intending to."

"Good."

Kurama slowly lifted his head, giving Hiei time to regain his composure, and the two stared at each other.

"I worry when you fall too, you know."

"Ha. I don't fall, you should know that about me by now."

"Still…"

Kurama kissed him then, with as much tenderness as a demon could kiss another when the taste of blood is strong in his mouth, and they fell back against the sheets of the bed. Kurama took satisfaction in being able to smell himself on Hiei's bed from the night before, stirred up as he was and his senses heightened, and he pressed their bodies closer together, worrying the skin on Hiei's collarbone with only a little gentleness.

"There is no one but you, Hiei."

His response was hands, pulling him closer.

That was all they needed.


End file.
